Voice response unit with a visual menu interface

Claim 1

Telecommunication apparatus responsive to an incoming call initiated by a party and arriving at a port of the apparatus, the apparatus providing aural prompts to the party that identify choices and receiving responsive signals indicative of choice selections, the improvement comprising: a detector responsive to the incoming call; a memory, storing signals that form at least one screen image, and the image, when displayed, shows at least two levels of a multi-level hierarchical menu structure; and a processor, coupled to the memory and to the port, supplying the screen images to said port when the detector determines that the incoming call is adapted to accept visual signals, and supplying only aural prompts when the detector determines that the incoming call is not adapted to accept visual signals; where each level comprises menu items, where at least one level comprises a list of menu items indicative of choice selections, and where at least one menu item of at least one level represents a request to display different levels of the menu structure rather than a choice selection.

Claim 4

A method carried out in an automated response unit that includes an aural prompt process of providing to a party that initiates a call to the unit an interaction session, where the session includes a sequence of aural prompts from the unit and corresponding responses from the party, and where each prompt suggests choices to be made and each response indicates a choice selection, the improvement comprising the steps of: determining whether the party is communicating with the unit via apparatus that accepts visual signals; initiating said aural prompt process when said step of determining concludes that the apparatus does not accept visual signals; and executing a visual prompt process when said step of determining concludes that the apparatus accepts visual signals, where the visual prompt process includes an interaction session that includes a sequence of presenting an image to the apparatus, and of receiving from the apparatus a signal that indicates a choice selection, where the image, when displayed, includes choices from which said choice selection is made, where the choices are displayed in a hierarchical manner, showing at least two of the hierarchical levels, and where some of the choices indicate a request to display another image to the exclusion of other actions and other choices indicate a request to take an action.

Claim 5

A method carried out in an automated response unit that includes an aural prompt process of providing to a party that initiates a call to the unit an interaction session, where the session includes a sequence of aural prompts from the unit and corresponding responses from the party, and where each prompt suggests choices to be made and each response indicates a choice selection, the improvement comprising the steps of: determining whether the party is communicating with the unit via apparatus that accepts visual signals; initiating said aural prompt process when said step of determining concludes that the apparatus does not accept visual signals; and executing a visual prompt process when said step of determining concludes that the apparatus accepts visual signals, where the visual prompt process includes an interaction session that includes a sequence of presenting an image to the apparatus, and of receiving from the apparatus a signal that indicates a choice selection, where the image, when displayed, includes choices from which said choice selection is made, where the choices are displayed in a hierarchical manner, showing at least two of the hierarchical levels, and where some of the choices indicate a request to display another image to the exclusion of other actions and other choices indicate a request to take an action.